All recipes are for 2 servings unless noted. Oil is canola oil and salt is kosher salt.

2016-05-13

Tsumire to retasu no nimono / fish dumplings and lettuce simmered in broth

This resembles a nabe hot pot but is cooked in a stronger broth. Soft and fluffy tsumire fish dumplings crumble in your mouth, while lettuce gives some crispiness. As with any item made with surimi ground fish paste, these dumplings by themselves contain a relatively high amount of sodium, but the sodium is released into the broth while simmering, and you can comfortably enjoy the gentle taste tsumire offers -- one of the great advantages of nimono simmered dishes, where the broth is often left behind in the pot or untouched in bowls.

When shiitake is about done, add lettuce, and continue simmering for another few minutes.

7.

Juice in ginger, and stir gently.
Ready to serve.

<Notes>

Shrimp flakes are optional. If not at hand, sakura ebi dried shrimp or chopped raw shrimp works great. Adding some crunchy ingredients such as chopped renkon lotus root is nice, too.

Tamago no moto egg yolk emulsion adds a rich note to tsumire dumplings. It works great when fish used for the paste is lean, but the emulsion is not essential and can be skipped, especially if cholesterol is a concern (skipping it would reduce the above cholesterol figure by 35 mg).

For tamago no moto emulsion, I mix one egg yolk with 3 tablespoons of canola oil.

When made on a cold day, thickening the broth by adding potato starch and water mixture at the end would be a nice touch. If you do, somewhat reduce the amount of soy sauce for the broth (as individual goodies would be coated by more broth, broth would taste stronger and you would also take in more sodium).

The above nutrition data is based on an assumption that 50% of broth is consumed with goodies. The sodium figure is calculated based on the sodium content in leftover broth.